Art by Scott Grimando
Okay. So, maybe I made up the quote in the title, it’s not from this book, but, well… it’s true, no? Just look at this awesome cover.
I think we can all agree that, in general, there is a lot of pretty awful Fantasy and Science Fiction cover art these days, right? Sure, there’s some great work being done (like this, or this), but there’s also a proliferation super generic, dudebro, fistbump, “Pass me my hood, brah”-style covers that do little to improve the mainstream opinion that Fantasy is for kids, or neckbeards living in their parents’ basement.
That is, of course, patently wrong. Fantasy and Science Fiction is for women and men. It’s for children, adults and everywhere in between. It’s for Chinese readers, Canadian readers, Moroccan readers and Samoan readers. It’s for rich people, and poor people. It’s for you, me, and everyone else. So, why don’t we have more covers like the one for Ascension: A Tangled Axon Novel by Jacqueline Koyanagi? Yeah, maybe the pose and boob armour are tacky, and it’s just another character-portrait-over a funky, space-y background, like we’ve seen a million times before, but, god dammit, it’s nice to see Science Fiction that challenges the accepted norms in publishing trends and respects the diversity of its readership.
About the book:
Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually-advanced sister Nova, Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig on the crew. But the Tangled Axon proves to be more than star-watching and plasma coils. The chief engineer thinks he’s a wolf. The pilot fades in and out of existence. The captain is all blond hair, boots, and ego… and Alana can’t keep her eyes off her. But there’s little time for romance: Nova’s in danger and someone will do anything – even destroying planets – to get their hands on her!
A quick look at the biography of Jacqueline Koyanagi reveals that, “her stories feature queer women of color, folks with disabilities, neuroatypical characters, and diverse relationship styles, because she grew tired of not seeing enough of herself and the people she loves reflected in genre fiction.” Storytelling, especially in the boundless potential of SFF, should be about the infinite variations that life produces, and Koyanagi seems to get that. It’s great to see the editorial and art staff at Masque Books, including Sean Wallace (who readers might recognize from Prime Books and Clarkesworld Magazine) and Sherin Nicole, are publishing books that accept and embrace SFF’s diverse readership. Really bloody cool.
What are some of your favourite SFF covers that feature persons of colour?
Ascension: A Tangled Axon Novel is due for release on December 4th, 2013, and is available for pre-order.
The cover art on The Apex Book of World SF 2 pretty much grabbed me by my collar and forced me to buy the book! http://www.apexbookcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/World02B_1024x1024.jpeg (the colours are a little washed-out compared with my hard copy but the image is large enough that you can see details)
The UK and the US versions of Myke Cole’s Control Point novels immediately come to mind.
Also, the UK covers to Ben Aaronvitch’s novels, too.
I’m guessing by “person of color” you mean non-white dude? I like the cover to James K. Decker’s THE BURN ZONE (one of my favorite SF novels published this year) which features an Asian woman – http://blog.jameskdecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BurnZone.jpg. I like the cover for AGE OF AZTEC (http://www.jameslovegrove.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Age_of_Aztec_03.jpg) and AGE OF VOODOO (http://www.solarisbooks.com/application/media/books/age_of_voodoo/age_of_voodoo_250x384.jpg) by James Lovegrove, both fit within the series style and the cover to Saladin Ahmed’s THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON
“Person of colour” can be defined however you interpret it. I meant to include males under the umbrella in this context.
[…] on my part: I am the acquisitions editor for the publisher of the book mentioned in this post: “Space: it’s not just for straight white dudes,” says Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi. I am so excited about this book and have been for months now. I can’t wait for this story to […]
Can’t say I’m much of a fan of that cover. IMO it looks a bit photo-shoppy and plastic and the pose looks awkward. Big thumbs up for portraying a (I’m assuming) black character as a, well, black character on the cover though.
I personally really like these:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/13539191-three-parts-dead
http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/7767021-who-fears-death
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13578175-the-emperor-s-soul
The book sounds terrible, but glad to see POC fiction.
Interzone no. 242 published by TTA press had a pretty awesome cover with a black female on it http://jimsteel.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/interzone-242-cover.jpg?w=450
The book sounds interesting. Something else to go on my TBR pile (once it’s out).
In addition to the books mentioned above, Max Gladstone’s THREE PARTS DEAD comes to mind. There’s also Seressia Glass’s SHADOW BLADE and John Ridley’s THOSE WHO WALK IN DARKNESS and WHAT FIRE CANNOT BURN. And Maurice Broaddus’s KING MAKER and KING’S JUSTICE.